Melancholy
by 100kallibur
Summary: A story of pain, sorrow, loss and friendship. Kahl, an earth pony colt, has ran out of patience after a decade of abuse from the orphanage where he lives. He takes a walk one night with no intention of returning. But what he didn't count on is what his actions would lead to! O.C's, contains dark and mature themes(No Clop). Intended to be MLP with harsh realism.
1. Chapter 1

-  
Ok so hey guys, it's me.  
I know what you're thinkin', "Hey! Y u no update your other stories?"  
Well, because I have a habit of running my stories into the ground by not thinking of the storyline AT ALL beforehand.  
Back then, I was all like, "Make the story up as I go along and it will be fine :DD", but nope. I wasn't that lucky :l  
But guys! Trust me on this one xD  
Seriously, me and some others have been talking about this ALL summer!  
I have this plotted SOOO far ahead it's no joke!  
Anyway, moving on to the more serious part of this AN, This story, Melancholy, was initially being done for fun. But I was able to shape the storyline to be more meaningful.  
What I was aiming for in this is to be like an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic but with many elements of realism added in.  
It's much darker than an episode should be, but valuable lessons are thought about friendship none the less.  
The opening passage was written when I was feeling a bit dark for a better effect.  
I hope you enjoy this as much as me and my friends have had fun making it up.

Melancholy

Chapter 1

Kahl was an earth pony.  
Just like everypony else.  
His coat, a slightly dull shade of blue. His mane, a solid jet black.  
His eyes were a vivid shade of emerald green.  
He lay on the hill looking at the sky as the stars began to appear across what was now becoming Princess Luna's sky.  
His mind was filled with many things. Not one of them would be considered good.  
The other colts made fun of him, the mares would pay no attention to him other than giggling behind his back.  
He had been living in the orphanage in Ponyville for 10 years now. And through those years his flank remained bare of any sign of talent.  
The teachers at the orphanage were bitter and strict. They would not be the kind to nourish ability when noticed.  
But Kahl wasn't concerned about that as much as other ponies were at his age.  
He was 16, but couldn't find what he was good at. He had all but given up.  
As far as he was concerned, he was a talentless piece of crap, one who would never find a reason to belong.  
He took a deep breath as the sky had completed its transformation from light to dark, he stood up and began moving forward.  
He came to the edge of the cliff.  
Ghastly Gorge, with the way things were now, all he could see was darkness below.  
"This is it," he thought to himself, "I'm sick and tired of everyone pushing me around!"  
He closed his eyes as he stood there, letting the cool breeze glide smoothly over him.  
"It's not like I'm leaving anything behind…It's not like I'll be missed…there isn't room in Equestria for ponies like me. I have nothing. I am nothing. Not many ponies talk to me, but when they do it's some retarded insult about me or my Dad…."  
He let out a heavy sigh and looked down into the abyss.  
"They would all be better off without me….I'm just in the way…"  
He took a step forward, off the cliff.  
"I never was too fond of this place anyway, and I don't think it was ever fond of me either."  
Thwack,  
Thump,  
Snap,  
Thud!  
"I can't help it if I suck at everything…"

Ok so here I am back again.  
Yea, it was pretty sad, and may have been somewhat confusing, I know, but all will be explained!  
And I'm sorry if this has offended you in anyway.  
I know this isn't funny, this part of it isn't intended to be!  
But trust me, things lighten up a whole lot :DD  
And also, if you didn't get it, this first chapter underlines bullying and how shitty it is :l  
It's not big to make others feel small guys.  
If you intentionally hurt people emotionally or physically then shame on you :l  
It's just really not an ok thing to do.  
Everyone is different, if you can't accept that then at least tolerate it!  
Thanks for reading this incredibly short first chapter x-x  
I WILL make the second longer! So don't you worry!  
See ya lads!  
Happy Trails~


	2. Chapter 2

Melancholy  
Chapter 2

It was dark and void of any movement or sound whatsoever.  
Was this what awaited after death? Eternal oblivion?  
He wasn't expecting it to be much, not officially believing in an afterlife in the first place.  
At least it was over, his sad excuse for a life was over.  
He now felt he could have peace with himself.  
But suddenly, he could hear a feminine voice calling in the distance,  
"Hey!..."  
He couldn't see anyone, he heard it again, getting louder,  
"Hey! Blue dude!"  
If felt like he was getting closer to it, but he knew he wasn't moving.  
"Dude! Waake uuup! C'mon sleepyhead!"  
He opened his eyes.  
What he saw shocked and confused him.  
He was not dead.  
He was in a cave, he looked around, there were several piles of stacked cardboard boxes lining the walls, many of the boxes in bad shape.  
"Oh! You're awake!" Spoke the voice he had been hearing.  
He sat up and looked in front of him.  
He saw what he looked like a pony…..a Pegasus pony?  
But, this one had bat wings! Its coat was a deep vivid purple and its mane looked black with white highlights…..or maybe it was the other way around?  
Its golden eyes were those of what you might find on a cat or some other wild creature.  
"Hi there! My name is Wafflepaw!" The creature extended her hoof to him.  
It gave a grin, bearing its many sharp and vicious looking teeth, "What's your name?"  
Kahl could not make heads or tails of this…it...didn't even have a tail!  
He just stared at it blankly.  
"Umm, what the fuck is this?" He asked, breaking the silence.  
The thing put down her hoof and giggled, "Oh that's right, silly me!"  
"Well you see, my name is Wafflepaw! From what I understand I'm a crossbreed between a pony and a Demon. I've lived down in this isolated part of the gorge for nearly all my life! And as you can imagine, I don't get too many visitors! So when I met you I just HAD to invite you over!"  
She finished with a wide smile on her face.  
"So…I'm NOT dead, right?" Kahl asked, trying to straighten this situation out in his head.  
"Oh of course not! You took quite a nasty fall! Didn't your mom ever teach you not to play near biiig holes in the ground?"  
Kahl's face suddenly became very serious, shaking his head, "No, I'm afraid she forgot to mention that before she died!"  
Wafflepaw's face dropped in shock, "Oh my! I'm so so sorry!"  
"No, it's ok, you didn't know." Kahl, realising what he said, felt bad. He was so used to being made fun of for having no one who wants him that he would automatically take any mention of his mother as an insult.  
"Well…didn't your Dad tell you?"  
Kahl looked away, his serious face cracking into a frown, "He…doesn't want me…"  
"O-oh…"  
After a brief silence, Kahl turned his head back towards her, "How did I even survive? That's impossible!"  
Wafflepaw seemed to return to a happy state upon hearing this, "Oh! That's an easy one! Ya see, if you live in a gorge like me, you can't exactly just go out onto the surface looking for stuff! You gotta live off the land! But you know, being lazy and all, that wasn't an option! Then I started noticing ponies dumping in the gorge! So I decided to see if I could use that stuff! But by the time I could get my hooves on it, it was in pieces! So what I did was, I got some old nets that I managed to recover and I built these things to catch stuff when they fell! I have them set up along the parts of the gorge I can get to. You broke the one you fell on since you weigh a lot more than a bag of trash!"  
Kahl couldn't believe it. The odds alone of something like this happening…  
"So, what were you doin' up there when you fell? Were you lost?" She asked.  
"Yeah…I guess you could say that."  
Kahl stood up, giving his hind legs a much needed stretch.  
"Hey uhh, guy? You never told me your name!"  
"My name? Call me Kahl."  
"Kahl? That's a strange name!"  
"Says the girl named Wafflepaw!"  
"Touché."  
He took a walk outside the cave, followed closely by Wafflepaw.  
He looked up, he really was at the bottom of Ghastly Gorge.  
Above, all he could see was the sky, like a crack in the middle of the tall cliffs, and he could just barely make out the bigger birds flying overhead.  
"So…you've lived here all your life and you've NEVER been found?" He asked her.  
She shakes her head, "Nope, nopony ever comes down here!"  
He looked at the bat-like wings on her back, "Why don't you just use your wings? Fly out!"  
"No! They're not strong enough yet!" She flapped them, kicking up a faint gust, "See? And besides, if I left, who would have helped you?"  
"I don't see what I have to do with you not flying away, but whatever. I'm past trying to figure out what's going on."  
"It's not that hard to figure out, you fell, I saved you, now you're stuck down here forever!" She smiled at him.  
It then dawned on him, he WAS stuck! "Wait, can't I just walk on out?"  
"Nope! About a mile or two down to the left," She gestured towards the path that curls out of sight, "It's all blocked by these big ass rocks! I can't even get over them! And down to the right," She gestured towards the other side that also bends around a corner, "Is a complete dead end about 4 miles in, so I concluded I must be in a tributary of the gorge or something."  
This was convincing enough, he was stuck. He couldn't hope to scale the sheer cliffs, and if this thing couldn't get around the apparent rock obstruction then he had no hope.  
He never thought of himself as a good climber anyway.  
"So I'm trapped. With you!"  
"Yes!" She smiled.  
"Oh sweet Celestia…well at least it's better than were I used to live…"  
"Were was that?" She asked  
"In an orphanage. I shared a room with 5 other troubled colts that also had no parents. We didn't get along. Well, they didn't get along with me would be more like it."  
"Aww, that's so sad! Well, at least you don't gotta go back to that big sad house anymore! You gotta stay here now!"  
"Well, I suppose there's no other way around it! If you'll have me, I suppose I'll stay."  
"Of course I will silly! Where else would you go?"  
"Thanks, I guess."

End of Chapter 2

Well, that's it for now.  
"Look, I think you've already run this fic into the ground, you know, having only 2 ponies in this whole thing!"  
Shut up Kahl, I'm doing my best! :l  
"No you're not! If you even half assed this thing you'd have me AT LEAST stuck in the forest or something, so you know, other ponies or creatures could get involved?"  
Look, Kahl, shut up, you haven't read the rest of the script! You can't just read your parts right before you do them! Even Wafflepaw has read them all!  
"Well she was involved with it in the first place!"  
So were you.  
"Fuck you man I don't have to take this! I'm goin' home!"  
You're stuck in the gorge.  
"Fuck off!"  
Sorry about that guys, as you can see, bigger chapter this time, but not by much.  
I'm just feeding you little scraps of info at the moment, and some of you may not like it.  
And as Kahl said, you might totally think I've run this into the ground. But remember, I've plotted wayyy far ahead in this thing and I'm not gonna fuck this up (hopefully)!  
And thank you Skye for annoying me until I updated, keep up the good work xD  
See ya guys.  
Happy Trails~


	3. Chapter 3

Melancholy  
Chapter 3

"So, how long exactly have you been down here?" Kahl asked.  
"Hmm, about…16 or 17 years! I Remember after I was named I was sent to live here by my Dad!"  
"What? That's horrible! Why would he do that?"  
"Because I was born impure! My wings came out all webby, I didn't grow a tail and I'm smaller than I should be!"  
"But, you're the same size as me!"  
"Heh, Demons are not the same size as regular pony folk like yourself! Just a sec!"  
As she finished speaking, she turned around and hurried into one of the nearby caves.  
When she emerged moments later, she was holding a book, she dropped it down in front of Kahl, showing him a page with the corner bent, so it could be found easier in a hurry.  
Kahl read it aloud, "Demons. Demons are a different form of pony resembling a Pegasus.  
They are much bigger, sizes ranging from 7 to 9 feet tall, and often have a dark colour on their fur.  
They also have large teeth used for tearing flesh, this being said, they are carnivores.  
They reside mainly in the Everfree forest, showing themselves only at night, when they are fighting or hunting.  
They are a very violent and savage race and if they are seen then they should be avoided at all costs. Do not attempt to fight them.  
Their bones are as hard as iron and their bucks can level trees instantly.  
Evidence of their cruelty is the fact that they dispose of impure new born foals, by throwing them out into the wild without any hope of survival, these foals would die within days.  
When one pack goes to war against the other, the winning side would tear the opposition's homes apart, raping all the females in the-  
Ewww! This book is sick!"  
Kahl decided he had enough of this, he pushed the book back towards Wafflepaw with his front hoof.  
"I'm one of those! Well, half!" She said this as if she was proud.  
Proud to be a murderous, feral beast.  
But, she seemed so happy, so calm, so mellow.  
Then again, she did say half.  
"So ehh, where do you stay? There are a few caves here, which one do you sleep in?" He asked, looking at the 6 caves lining the wall.  
"Oh, I'm on the very first one on your left! You're one is the last one over there on the right! The rest of them are storage rooms! C'mon I'll show you my room!" She gleefully led the colt into the cave.  
She turned the nob on an old oil lamp standing on a tall makeshift table made of books.  
Upon doing so, Kahl's jaw dropped in disbelief.  
He looked around the cave which was now glowing a bright orange.  
The walls were decorated with several posters, pictures and other memorabilia from the old band Iron Hoof.  
Iron Hoof was the most renowned rock and metal band in all of Equestria.  
They started in 1978, their career ending in 2000, in which time they won tons of awards.  
"You like…Iron Hoof?"  
"YES! They are SOO amazing! Roth has the most outstanding voice I've ever heard!" she admired the poster of the bands vocalist, Roth, on the wall across from her bed.  
"And he's so cute…" she smiled to herself, starting to daydream.  
Kahl cleared his throat to try bring her back, "uhh yeah there is something you should know!"  
"What? You don't like them? Aww no please don't tell me you don't like them!" She pulled a heavy frown and her pointed ears drooped looking at him in disappointment.  
"No, it's not that! It's just…boy this is gonna be awkward…"  
Wafflepaw tilted her head, clueless as to what he was talking about.  
"That guy, Roth…he's my Dad!"  
She stared at him, shocked.  
"Are you shittin' me?"  
Kahl shook his head, "No, I'm afraid not."  
"What do you mean I'M AFRIAD NOT? That's amazing! And you look just like him!"  
She compared Kahl to the poster of his father, they both had a black mane, only Roth's was longer in the picture and Roth's coat was a slightly darker shade of blue compared to Kahl's.  
"Yeah…I got that a lot."  
"Wait, didn't you tell me your Dad didn't want you?"  
Kahl paused, then nodded his head.  
"Yeah…"  
"But what happened? He seemed like such a gentlecolt in all the stuff!" She took out a box from under her bed marked "Roth Stuff", inside was several books and a scrapbook containing magazine articles and interviews about Roth.  
Kahl, finding this a bit creepy, since she seemingly has a huge crush on his Dad, or she was just a huge fan girl.  
He wasn't keen on either of the ideas.  
"Everything changed after Mom died…you see his cutie mark?" He pointed to the poster.  
Roth's cutie mark was a golden lock.  
"He had this because he would never break a promise, would never lie to anyone he cared about, or would never drink, smoke or do drugs. He was unbreakable!"  
Wafflepaw nodded her head, obviously knowing this, because she she was, after all, the biggest Iron Hoof fan in the whole gorge.  
"Yeah, so what happened?"  
"Well…"

The year is now 1999, in a cottage on the outskirts of Canterlot lived a family of 3.  
A Mother, a Father and a small blue foal.  
This was Kahl's family, His mother's name was Panama.  
Her coat was a bright blue, her long mane was golden.  
She also had a pair of red eyes and a pink flower for a cutie mark.  
She was always so happy, so positive.  
There was never a dull moment when she was around.  
But one day, things were different.

Ok guys, that's it for now.  
quite a bit was cut from the end of this chapter (which will serve as the start of the next) because I thought I was pouring a bit too much into into this one.  
but yeah, thanks everyone for the reads and stuff, and thanks to Skye for being annoying!  
Oh, and if, for whatever reason, my descriptive powers are not up to par, I will provide links here to show what the current cast looks like.  
Head on over to my profile to check them out.  
All of them done quickly in that pony maker by general zoi on deviant art, head over there to check her out.  
That's about all I have to say right now, gimme a good review if you liked it! But if ya didn't like it, drop in a review on what you didn't like, I'll take it into account next time!  
See ya guys!  
Happy Trails~


	4. Chapter 4

Melancholy

Chapter 4

She had come home from town a bit later than usual.  
She didn't want to play with Kahl, which he found odd.  
"Mommy, are you ok?" He asked, feeling concerned for his Mother.  
She looked sincere, shaking her head, "No hun, I'm not. The doctor said Mommy is sick."  
"Sick? Like when I had the measles?"  
"No not like that…this is the kind of sick that's hard to get rid of."  
He looked at his Mother, confused, "But what's wrong with you?"  
"I don't know…the doctor doesn't even know. But it's bad."  
"But they're gonna make you ok, aren't they?"  
She looked at her child, obviously he was incapable of grasping the situation.  
"I don't know Kahl, I don't know."

Later that evening, word was sent to Roth to return home from his traveling with the band.  
When he arrived, Kahl was sent to play outside, Mommy and Daddy had to talk.  
"Roth…I really don't know what to do!"  
"Don't worry! We will find a way to cure this! I will give them all the money I have to find a cure!"  
"I don't think you understand, all the money in the world can't help me. I think… I think this is it…"  
Roth's face dropped, he had never heard such talk from his wife before.  
"No…no baby don't say that! I promise you-"  
"Please don't make a promise you can't keep."  
Roth stood there, dismayed.  
"Listen, I am not letting you go! You are the best thing that ever happened to me! I love you."  
She smiled at her husband, "I love you too."  
"But you gotta listen, I need you to keep your head up, if there IS a way to beat this you're not gonna find it with a frown on your face, ok?"  
She nodded, cracking another smile, "Ok, thank you."  
"Look, whatever happens, I promise I'm not going to let you go! You're mine and you always will be!"  
"Thank you Roth."

That night, Roth was tucking his son into bed.  
"Daddy, Mommy told me she was sick badly!"  
Roth sighed, "I know, she…she told me too."  
"Is she gonna be ok?"  
He paused for a moment, looking at him son's concerned face.  
Kahl truly did love his mother.  
Because he wasn't able to be much of a father since Kahl was born, she was always the one there for him.  
"She's…uhh…she's gonna be just fine!" he put on a fake smile.  
Kahl bought it and smiled back.  
"Ok that's good!"  
"But…just take it easy on her, she is going to need her rest, and she might be in the hospital for a few days every now and again."  
Kahl nodded, "Oh ok, why?"  
"Well uhh, sometimes when grownups get sick they gotta sleep in the hospital to make them better!"  
"Ohh like magic?"  
"Yes, kinda like that. C'mon now, you gotta get to sleep!"  
"Ok Daddy."  
Roth, using his unicorn powers, turned off the light in Kahl's room.  
He walked out, closing the door gently.  
The only light in the room was the moon casting a silver beam through his window.  
Kahl turned over on his side, waiting for sleep to come.

Over the next few weeks, his Mom ended up spending more and more time in hospital.  
She didn't seem to be getting better, in fact, the other day when he went to see her, there were wires and tubes on her front hoof in the bed.  
She told him it was medicine, but the only medicine he ever had to take was a spoon, and that was icky.  
Maybe this way she didn't have to taste the icky medicine?  
Cheater.  
But it wasn't only that, he could see it on her face, she wasn't feeling well at all.  
But she always had a smile, it seemed.  
But one day when they went to visit her, they weren't allowed in to her hospital room.  
Roth got pretty mad at the nurse, but no amount of arguing would do, they had to go home.  
"Daddy, why were we not allowed see Mommy today? I miss her."  
"I miss her too son, but she needs her rest."  
"Why?"  
"Well, sometimes when someone is sick they have to sleep longer than other ponies. It helps them get better."  
An awful lot of things were to "Help" her get better, but no matter how many things were there, they would still not let her come home.  
Kahl and Roth both missed Panama, but no one more than Kahl wished that she could come home even if it was just for 1 day.

He loved his Dad, but this is the longest amount of time in a while he'd stayed at home without having to leave playing music with his friends.  
Kahl had met the rest of the band on a few occasions, he thought they were pretty cool ponies.  
Kahl liked the guitars they had, but he couldn't play it, lacking a Horn.  
Most of the time it's only unicorns who are able to play the guitar.  
They are able to use their magic to manipulate the strings using simple grasping spells.

A month or so later, the pair were called back to the hospital.  
Panama looked miserable, her color had faded, her golden mane was lifeless and bags had formed under her eyes, but the thing that troubled Kahl most, is that she was not wearing her smile.  
But as soon as she saw Kahl, she faintly smiled "Hey there Kahl! Nice to see you!"  
Her voice didn't sound right, it was weak and quiet.  
It upset Kahl to see his Mother like this.  
"M-mommy? When are you coming home?" He asked hopefully.  
She just turned her attention to her husband, as if Kahl hadn't spoken at all.  
"Is he behaving for you?"  
"Oh yeah! He's been great! Doin' his homework, brushin' his teeth every day, eatin' right, all that stuff!" Roth smiled at his son.  
"Yeah? That's good. And what about you? How are you holding up fella?" She asked Roth.  
"I'm fine!" This was a lie, and she knew it.

Roth had not been able to catch a good night's sleep in weeks.  
This was a new feeling to him, and he didn't like it one bit.  
The person he loved, the person he'd do absolutely anything for, is in pain.  
And he knew there was not a damn thing he could do about it.  
It was horrible, the thought of losing Panama made his heart cringe.  
The other band members had been in touch, checking up on him.  
He wouldn't reply, because he didn't want them to come all the way out here, he didn't want to put them to the bother.  
Because they would be sent back home soon after.  
In the back of his mind he knew Panama could not recover from this illness.  
The life he was leading, a fortune in record sales alone, a beautiful wife and child, a proper modest house, was soon to be shattered.  
The reason they did not want to have a big house was because he did not want his son spoiled from birth, he had met ponies like that in his travels and they are not pleasant company.

"Really…that's great." She looked down, letting her fake smile fall.  
"To be honest, I'm not doing so well at all, Kahl."  
Kahl looked up at his Mother, "But, you're supposed to be getting better! That's what the doctors are hear for! Why aren't they making you better?" Kahl put his hoof on the side of his Mother's bed.  
She gently lifted her own hoof onto his.  
Kahl looked at the tubes and wires.  
"I…really miss you Mommy, I want you to come home! So does Daddy! He just won't say it cus he's a big baby!"  
"Honey it's not that simple! Mommy is sick. I swear if I could I would jump out of this bed right now and we would all go home. But things don't always work out the way you want it. Sometimes bad things happen, and once it's happened you can't turn back and change it. You just have to deal with it."  
Kahl could feel his eyes welling up, "But you have to come home! Being at home sucks if you're not there! When you're at home everyone is always happy, but now everyone is sad because you're not there anymore! Even other ponies are asking about you cus they miss you, even they are sad because you're not at home! Please come home Mommy." He couldn't help but pout, his eyes had begun leaking down his cheeks.  
His Mother lowered herself and replied, " I can't."  
"B-but why!"  
"Because I'm sick!"  
"Why aren't you getting better?"  
The situation had now also gotten to her, her eyes had begun to water.  
"Because Kahl, this isn't the kind of sick you get better from."  
They looked at each other, Kahl's tears absorbing into the blanket, one by one.

Roth looked on, he didn't know how to feel, he didn't know what to do.  
Should they leave? Should he go over to them?  
He looked at his wife's despairing face,it hurt so much.  
He knew she probably didn't have a whole lot of time left.  
Kahl, on the other hand, had no reply to Panama's words.  
He knew what this meant, but he didn't want to believe it.  
His Mom was dying.

That night Father and Son had a long talk about life and death.  
Roth explained that every pony has their own time to go, and that some ponies have to leave earlier than others, and that most of the time there is simply nothing we can do about it so we just have to stand back and let it happen.  
Kahl understood, but his mind simply couldn't process the emotions.  
All he wanted to do was sleep, and wish this was all over.  
Just to open his eyes to his mother's beaming smile and wide rosy eyes.  
At this moment there was nothing in the world he wouldn't give just for all this to be a dream.  
A nightmare.

Wafflepaw sat on the ground listening silently to every word of Kahl's story.  
Kahl had paused to gather himself and take a breath.  
"Then what happened?"  
Kahl sighed, wanting to do away with the story quickly before he became emotional.  
"It was a Wednesday when it happened, they said she just…didn't wake up."  
"Then they…buried her on Friday…that's it."

"Oh my, that's so sad!" Wafflepaw wiped a tear from her eye.  
"But, you said everything changed! What changed exactly?"  
Kahl reluctantly carried on, "After she died my Dad starting acting really weird…"

Whew, sorry about the long wait guys! SOMEONE has stopped annoying me it seems! (SKYE :l)  
But nah it's ok Skye, just try harder next time c:  
Jk, it's all my fault, im a lazy fuck if not motivated.  
So yeah, there aint a whole lot more to say on this.  
This was supposed to be sad, so will the next one, so a bit of a heads up there.  
If you guys liked it, gimme a good review! They make updates move faster!  
If you got yourself a problem with me, or the way I write, let me know!  
Expect the next within the first week of December at the latest!  
See ya guys!  
Happy Trails~


	5. Chapter 5

Melancholy  
Chapter 5

Roth lay on the couch by himself.  
He had been spending more and more time in the living room, just lying there.  
He didn't want to back into their room.  
He didn't like the feeling of being in there alone.  
Kahl wanted to go back to school a few weeks after the incident, he said he missed his friends.  
Roth allowed it, this gave him a chance to be alone.  
But deep down Roth couldn't help but feel jealous of the boy.  
Roth didn't even want to set hoof outside the door, never mind go back to his work, back on tour.  
He had been getting word that the fans are becoming restless from the tour dates being cancelled, but a majority of them seemed to be understanding, in the media at least.  
He didn't like disappointing other ponies, but sometimes, and now more than ever, he wished he had never been famous.  
He wished he could just be left alone to deal with his problems in peace without this external pressure from ponies around the world waiting for him and the band to play again finally.  
But he just didn't feel up to it.  
A lot of their songs were aggressive or upbeat, and he just wasn't feeling that at the moment.  
And at the same time he didn't want to go into a whole blues phase with his band, that wasn't their style at all.  
He wanted this to have nothing to do with his work, and vice versa.

He heard the front door open, then close again, followed by the trotting of a young pony entering the house.  
"Hello! Dad?" Kahl poked his head over the back of the couch, checking if his father was still on the couch.  
He was.  
"Oh, hi Kahl…"  
Roth sat up and stretched, "Did you have a good day at school?"  
"Yeah it was ok! We did painting, but I finished mine too late so I'll have to wait until Monday to bring it home cus I had to let it dry."  
"Oh, really? That's too bad, I'm sure it was great."  
"You'll see it soon though!"  
"Yeah, soon."

Dinner time was quiet, as it usually was.  
Neither of them looked at each other, they just kept their focus on the food.  
Kahl had noticed a steady deterioration in his Dad's cooking skills.  
It's like every time he seemed to be putting in less effort and care.  
He was eating less too, his cooking wasn't that bad.  
"Umm, Dad?", piped up Kahl.  
"Oh, yes Kahl?", asked Roth.  
"Are you ok? You don't seem well." Kahl tried to express his concern for his father, but he didn't seem any easier or better way to word it other than that.  
Roth pushed his food aside so he could concentrate on speaking, "Kahl, I'm going to be ok. I just need some rest is all."  
"But are you ok right now?" Kahl wasn't fooled by Roth's dressing of the sentence.  
"Kahl, if I told you, right now, that I was happy and that there was nothing wrong with me. I would be lying."  
"O-oh…" Kahl looked down at his half eaten potatoes and gingerly took one more mouthful, pushing the plate forwards, "I'm done, can I go to my room? I'm tired."  
"Yeah, do you want me to read you a bedtime story?"  
"No thanks Dad, I have to read a book for school myself."  
"Oh, well, don't stay up too late or you'll be tired at school tomorrow."  
Kahl paused for a moment, wondering if his dad was serious about that sentence, "Erm, Dad, it's Friday…"  
"Oh…oh! Yes! Of course it is! Sorry!" Roth laughed nervously.  
It was hard to keep track of the days when they all seemed the same.  
He had just been practically living each day on loop it seems.  
Every day was the same thing for Roth.  
The same sun, the same moon.  
The same sounds, the same air.  
The same dark thoughts which he would never dare make any pony aware of.

He received a letter from the band, written by Verax, their rhythm guitar player.

Dear  
Roth  
Hey man, we understand that you're going through some harsh shit at the moment. I feel ya man.  
It aint easy loosin' someone you care about. And I knew you both well, so I know how much Panama meant to you.  
But we really need you to pull together for us, for the fans, for your kid, man!  
The guys down here at the label have a tight grip on our nuts without you to work your silver tongue on em, on the guys, not our nuts…Fuck you know what I mean! We're in some serious shit without you!  
They're askin about our inactivity, why you havn't so much as contacted us in so long, and when we plan to get back on the road to finally finish this tour.  
Please man, we need you to fly out here asap!  
~Verax, Asher, Mumble and Firestorm

They were right.  
Roth knew he couldn't stay like this forever, no matter how much it hurt.  
Death never is easy, and this is no exception.  
He had to allow the tour to continue.

Kahl was sitting on his bed reading his school book when he heard his father enter the room.  
"Kahl, how would you like to go on a trip with me?"  
Kahl quickly marked and closed his book and looked at his father, "Where?"  
"To Manehattan, I'm gonna take you to work with me!"  
Kahl's ears perked and his face lit up, he had always wanted to go to one of his dad's concerts, but his mother insisted that it was a bad environment.  
Kahl never understood this, but now he was allowed to go!  
This must mean he was grown up now!  
"Yes! I'd love to!" Kahl resisted the urge to jump on his bed in excitement.  
Older ponies must remain neat and tidy.  
Being old is hard work.  
"Great! I'll let your teacher know that you won't be in for a few days, we will have to leave in 2 days because my friends are getting grumpy because I took too many days off."  
Kahl nodded, "How long will I be out for?"  
"It depends on how well you behave yourself!" Roth ruffled his son's mane.  
Kahl giggled, "Ok, I'll be good!"  
They both smiled, "Alright then, get some sleep Kahl, we'll have to pack some stuff tomorrow to get ready!"

They said their goodnights and Roth took his leave, closing the door behind him gently.  
Kahl smiled to himself, this is the first time in a while he had seen his father so much as sound happy.  
Maybe this would be a fresh start for him, maybe he would start being his old happy dad again.  
He missed the times when they would spend time together, even is they were few and far between.  
Maybe they would all start again.

"And did it?" Wafflepaw asked, interrupting Kahl's tale.  
"What?"  
"Did it all go back to the way things used to be?"  
Kahl shook his head, "No, it didn't…"  
"What happened?"  
"Well, the first 2 gigs went ok, then after the third one he messed up a line on stage, I went to his dressing room after to find him crying, I didn't say anything, I just stood there and watched.  
When we got home after the tour was over he had started drinking, he would get angry and break things, I would stay in my room afraid, afraid that he'd hurt me.  
He never put a hoof on me though, I was just scared that he would.  
Then one day I didn't hear anything at all, everything was silent.  
He was passed out one the kitchen table surrounded with a bunch of things I didn't know about then.  
I told my neighbour and he was taken to the hospital.  
I was taken to the orphanage.  
He came by to see me when he got out of hospital, I thought he was gonna take me home, but he came to tell me that I wasn't allowed see him anymore.  
I was taken from him because he was deemed unfit to care for a child.  
I stayed in that horrible place for 10 years, every day being ridiculed, bullied and outcast.  
So that's my story."

"Wow", Wafflepaw began, "That's rough man, I'm real sorry!"  
"No it's fine, that's the first time I've never told that to anypony, so thanks for letting me vent, I guess."  
"Oh don't mention it, it's great to have some conversation for once!"

-

Holy Crap, I said I'd have this up before xmas, words can't describe how sorry I am.  
I really didn't like this chapter and I had some trouble working around some of the things I had in my mind about the story, I actually had this chapter written out several times and this is the only instance I would deem passable.  
Again, I'm so sorry guys, forgives?  
I'm going to update more regularly, promise! :3  
Happy Trails!~


	6. Chapter 6

Melancholy  
Chapter 6

Kahl looked at the creature, curious, "Do you have anything you'd like to, you know, get off your chest? I mean, you've been down here for ages! How 'bout tellin' me where you came from, in greater detail?"  
Wafflepaw sighed, "Ok I guess, but it's not a very long story…"

Somewhere in the mountains overlooking the Everfree Forest!  
Oh jeez you're gonna make this super cheesy aren't you?  
Shut up Kahl! This is how shit went down!  
In the mountains, hidden away in the valleys, was a small village!  
This village was inhabited by DEMONS!  
Fuckers like me, sept not retarded!  
These massive tanks, with proper wings! And strong as fuck too!  
Well, one day, the Kaliph, the ruler of the village, Razorwire, was feelin' a bit hungry!  
He flew down from his mountain and to the forest.  
It was night time, and his navy coat and dead silent gliding assisted him greatly in his hunt.  
The wind blew against his face and he caught the outlandish smell of…  
an earth pony!  
These were hard to come by, as ponies, let alone earth ponies, hardly ever ventured deep into the forest.  
He tracked his prey and eventually locked onto its location.  
He flew through a clearing in the trees and landed with a light thud.  
He crept along the forest floor, stalking the smell, the promise of a fresh meal.  
He used his perfect vision and saw hoof marks belonging to not 1, but 2 ponies!  
His smirk grew wider as he followed the trail the unwitting pair left behind.  
The beast moved in, closer and closer!  
He began to hear noises, hooves dragging and quiet whispering, his senses were now one with the shadows cast by the unforgiving canopy above.  
He knew exactly where they were.  
He kicked off from the ground and made a B line right for the pair.  
He saw them, one pink and one grey.  
Razorwire shot right for the grey pony, sinking his teeth into the back of its neck and dragging him to the ground before ripping the chunk off.  
The pony tried to scream but the monster hammered his hoof onto his skull, shattering it, making it explode all over the forest floor.  
The pink pony was petrified, she could do nothing but watch as the beast from the shadows slaughtered her companion.  
Razorwire swallowed another fresh, dripping chunk of flesh and smiled devilishly.  
He spun around and bucked her in the face, knocking her out.  
If he had used his full power, he would have easily decapitated her.  
When the pink mare came to, she was tied over a stone slab, in the village hidden in the mountains.  
She tried to speak, but was met with a searing pain.  
Her mouth had been cut then cauterized together, she could only mumble pathetically.  
On the wall of the poorly lit cave, she could see the shadow a dark mass moving towards her.  
She heard the deep growling voice, it sounded like it was being ground out from the monster's guts.  
She heard it laugh at her feeble, weak struggling.  
It licked it's bottom lip and said,  
"You best believe, pathetic pony girl, that I'm going to hurt you. A lot!"  
Tears began to stream down the mare's cheeks, this couldn't be how it ended.  
She had a family, she HAD a husband, she had friends back in Ponyville.  
The one time she wandered too far would be the end of her.  
"You're not going to be killed tonight, pest! You are going to bear my child, and that child will be a ruthless warrior! Your child is going to kill your own kind! How does that make you feel?!"  
She was now crying harder, she was confused and wanted nothing more than for this to end.  
She heard him move behind her, and saw his hooves being planted on either side of her, "Tonight, worm, it begins!"

"Woah! What is it with you and RAPE?" Kahl was disgusted.  
"Lord, Kahl, I didn't interrupt your story and yell WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND BEING A KID?!" Retorted Wafflepaw, annoyed with Kahl.  
"That's….how can you even compare those two things? This story is horrible! Let's just skip this part, I don't want to hear it!" Kahl had made his mind up.  
"B-but it's how my people reproduce!"  
"I don't care! So she gets raped, then what?"  
"She actually gets raped 8 times."  
"8 times?!" said Kahl, shocked.  
"Well yeah, if you're gonna rape someone ya gotta make sure you do it right! Now shut up and let me continue!"  
You could say the expression on Kahl's face read, what the fuck am I listening to?

So a while later, Razorwire thought it was time for the child to be birthed.  
So they followed the traditional Demon birthing ceremony.  
They took bones out of her back ribcage and made them into knives and sliced her stomach open and took the child from her.  
The shaman then crushed the new mother's skull with his hoof.  
But all this trouble would be for nothing.  
For the Demons, if a child is born imperfect in anyway, it is exiled instantly.  
This child was smaller than it should have been. Its tail was non-existent and it's wings were deformed!  
Because of how pathetic it was, it was to be given an equally pathetic name!  
Wafflepaw.  
Wafflepaw was the name given to this child.  
The shaman took the child and cast her into the depths of the gorge outside the forest, far away from their hidden village.  
The child survived, but just barely.

"Wow, and I thought MY dad was an ass!"  
"Hey! My father is NOT an ass! That's his job ya goof!" Wafflepaw gave Kahl a thud on the forehead with her front hoof.  
"Ow!" Kahl rubbed his forehead and glared at the creature, "Ok fine, I'm sorry…"  
"Don't be sorry!" She smiled sweetly.  
Kahl forced a smile back then looked down.  
She then brought herself closer to him and whispered, "Just don't do it again!"  
Kahl grew wide eyed and moved away a notch, looking at her.  
She giggled, "Just kidding!"

Yeah. I'm not dead.  
Just incredibly lazy.  
Happy Trails~


End file.
